This invention relates to determining the condition of an inhomogeneous structure. More particularly, this invention relates to a system and method for accurately locating deteriorated portions of a reinforced concrete structure such as, for example, a bridge deck, using electromagnetic signals.
A bridge deck is the portion of a bridge upon which traffic travels. The life expectancy of a bridge deck (the period of time during which the structural integrity of the bridge deck is sufficient to safely support the traffic load for which it was intended) is typically one-half of the expected life span of the entire bridge. Consequently, during the life span of a typical bridge, its deck surface is replaced at least once.
Bridge decks are typically made of reinforced concrete. As referred to herein, concrete is a mixture of fine and coarse aggregates such as, for example, crushed stone or gravel, firmly bound into a monolithic mass by a cementing agent such as, for example, Portland cement. Reinforced concrete as referred to herein is concrete in which metal rods or bars, preferably made of steel, are incorporated into the concrete in such a manner as to reinforce or strengthen the more or less brittle nature of concrete. Such rods or bars carry the tension to which a concrete structure may be subjected, thus reinforcing the concrete, and are referred to herein as reinforcing bars or rebars. As used herein, a substantially concrete structure is a structure where the primary constituent is concrete. Such a substantially concrete structure may contain reinforcing bars to improve tensile strength, a waterproofing membrane to protect the structure from moisture, an asphalt layer or overlay, other added elements to improve durability or performance, and possible inadvertently added elements.
The short life expectancy of a typical bridge deck relative to the entire bridge structure is due in part to the intense loading cycles from vehicular traffic to which the bridge deck is subjected. Further, a bridge deck may be subjected to extreme climates such as, for example, snow, ice, and thermal freeze-thaw cycles. Further, such extreme climates, and human intervention to permit the flow of traffic on the bridge amidst these harsh conditions, may result in the ingress of road salt. These factors may lead to the eventual deterioration of portions of the bridge deck, making travel on the bridge unsafe. Thus, for safety reasons, the inspection and analysis of the condition of a bridge deck is a continual process, with inspections becoming increasingly important as the bridge deck grows older.
As used herein, deterioration refers to any physical change in a concrete or other comparable structure resulting in a loss of structural integrity of the concrete structure. Many forms of deterioration result from moisture present in the concrete, which may be caused by freeze-thaw cycles, intense loading cycles, the ingress of road salt, and severe weather, as discussed above. In a reinforced concrete bridge deck (or reinforced deck), such moisture may cause one or more rebars to corrode. Signs of deterioration visible from the exterior of a concrete bridge deck include concrete cracking, staining, disintegration, and delamination. Cracking may occur, for example, where the concrete becomes too dry and brittle. Staining may occur where the deterioration of a portion of concrete causes a discoloring of the portion of concrete. Disintegration may occur where the deterioration of a portion of the concrete results in the loss of structural integrity of the portion, either removing the portion of the concrete entirely from the concrete structure or reducing the portion to individual particles. Delamination is the peeling away of a layer of concrete from the remainder of a concrete structure such as, for example, when a layer of concrete pulls away from a layer of rebar.
As discussed above, concrete structures, including concrete bridge decks, typically are reinforced with rebars to provide tensile strength to the concrete structure. Although deterioration results from moisture, chemical activity and the corrosion of rebars, such deterioration may not lead to any externally visible signs of deterioration, and this potentially dangerous situation may go unnoticed.
One known method of determining the structural integrity of a concrete bridge deck is to visually inspect portions of the surface of the concrete structure to determine the presence of any externally visible signs of deterioration, such as those discussed above. The internal condition of the portion is then inferred from the visual inspection. Although visual inspection may detect some of the areas of deterioration present within a reinforced concrete bridge deck, visual inspection often does not detect internal deterioration such as, for example, the corrosion of rebars, that do not manifest themselves on the exterior of the bridge deck.
Other known methods such as, for example, the xe2x80x9cchain dragxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9chammer soundingxe2x80x9d technique involve listening to sounds reflected from portions of a bridge to determine the structural integrity the portion. Using the chain drag technique, a chain is dragged across sections of the surface of a bridge deck. For the hammer sounding technique, sound is generated by banging a hammer at different sections of the surface of the bridge deck. In either technique, by listening to the reflection of the resulting sound from the bridge deck and/or the transmission of sound through the deck, the presence of deterioration may be determined. Typically, the presence of deterioration is assumed detected if the sound is more xe2x80x9chollowxe2x80x9d than that from a bridge deck in good condition. Both of these sound methods are prone to inaccuracy as it is difficult to determine from reflected sound a detailed, localized picture of the structural integrity of a concrete structure.
Yet another sound technique is the xe2x80x9cimpact echoxe2x80x9d technique. For this technique, an acoustic source transmits acoustic waves into the bridge deck. The resulting reflected sound waves are collected by a receiver that is tightly coupled to the surface of the bridge. The technique is useful for locating delaminations and cracks in concrete. The impact echo technique is limited in usefulness due to the recording time per measurement (0.5 seconds or greater), its diminished capabilities when used on asphalt-overlaid concrete and because it cannot locate corroded rebars.
Many concrete bridge decks are covered with a layer of material such as, for example asphalt. When a layer of asphalt is present, the hammer sounding, chain dragging, and visual inspection techniques are ineffective. The asphalt absorbs the sound waves or interferes with the resolution of the sound waves, and visual insection is ineffective because the surface of the bridge deck can not be seen through the layer of asphalt. Consequently, to use one of these techniques at all, the layer of asphalt must be peeled away, which adds more cost and time to the bridge inspection process and makes it inherently destructive.
The above-described techniques may be referred to as non-invasive techniques because they do not require invading or penetrating the concrete structure to determine its structural integrity. An alternative to these non-invasive techniques would be to actually penetrate the concrete structure at various points to determine the structural integrity of the concrete structure at those points. Such invasive techniques, however, are time consuming, costly, and damaging to the structural integrity of the bridge deck.
Thus, the need exists for a reliable, fast, cost-effective and non-invasive technique to locate deteriorated areas of concrete structures, particularly reinforced concrete bridge decks covered with asphalt.
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a technique that may be used to image the inside of a structure by collecting the echoes (or reflections) resulting from electromagnetic signals such as, for example, electromagnetic waves of typically high frequency, being radiated into the structure. Typically, the rebars inside of a reinforced concrete structure are strong radar wave reflectors. Locating deteriorated areas within a reinforced concrete structure may be accomplished by analyzing the reflections, particularly the amplitudes of the reflections, from the rebars in the reinforced concrete structure. Furthermore, the extent of deterioration of these located areas may be determined from such analysis.
Significantly, the system and method described herein, when applied to determine the extent of deterioration of one or more areas of a reinforced concrete bridge deck, is effective even if a layer of asphalt is laminated to the surface of the reinforced bridge deck.
In an embodiment, a method of determining a condition of a substantially concrete structure is provided. One or more computer-readable data signals is received, where each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal detected from an area of the concrete structure. One or more of the detected electromagnetic signals include electromagnetic energy reflected from the concrete structure as a result of an electromagnetic signal transmitted into the concrete structure. An extent of deterioration of one or more areas of the substantially concrete structure are determined from the one or more computer-readable data signals.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, one or more of the data signals is selected, the amplitude of each selected data signal is determined, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the determined amplitudes.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure contains one or more reinforcing bars, and each selected data signal corresponds to a reinforcing bar. Further, the determined amplitude of each selected signal is an amplitude resulting from electromagnetic energy reflected from the corresponding reinforcing bar.
In yet another aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, and each transmitted electromagnetic signal was transmitted at a different position along the first side of the concrete structure, and each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal collected over a period of time. For each selected signal, a time interval of the data signal during which the electromagnetic energy reflected from the corresponding reinforcing bar was detected is selected. A peak amplitude of the data signal during the selected time interval is determined. For one or more spatial intervals of a first length along the first side of the substantially concrete structure, a data signal with a peak amplitude of a highest magnitude is selected from among data signals corresponding to electromagnetic signals transmitted within the spatial interval.
In other optional aspect of this embodiment, the data signals are migrated to facilitate selecting the data signal with a peak amplitude of the highest magnitude.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side from which the transmitted and detected electromagnetic signals are transmitted and detected, respectively. For each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude is adjusted to accommodate for attenuation of the selected signal due to a distance of the corresponding reinforcing bar from the first side. The extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the adjusted amplitudes.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, for each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude is inversely related to an extent of deterioration of the area of the concrete structure corresponding to the data signal from which the determined amplitude was determined.
In yet another optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, and for each determined amplitude, a coordinate of the determined amplitude on a representation of the first side is determined. The two-dimensional representation of the first side of the substantially concrete structure is displayed and each determined amplitude is represented at the determined coordinate with a value corresponding to the determined amplitude. The extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined by visually inspecting the two-dimensional representation.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, each determined amplitude is represented in the two-dimensional representation as a color or grayscale value.
In another embodiment, the data signals include one or more first data signals corresponding to electromagnetic energy having an electric field polarized primarily in the first direction and one or more second data signals corresponding to electromagnetic energy having an electric field polarized primarily in the second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction, and each first data signal has an associated second data signal detected from substantially a same area as the first data signal. For each first data signal, an associated second data signal is subtract from the first data signal to produce a third signal. The extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the third signal.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, an amplitude of each selected signal is determined, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the determined amplitudes.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure contains one or more reinforcing bars, and the determined amplitude of each selected third signal is an amplitude resulting from electromagnetic energy reflected from one or more of the one or more reinforcing bars.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, each transmitted electromagnetic signal having been transmitted at a different position along the first side of the concrete structure, wherein each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal collected over a period of time. For each third signal, a time interval of the third signal is selected during which the electromagnetic energy reflected from the one or more corresponding reinforcing bars was detected. A peak amplitude of the data signal during the selected time interval is determined, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the peak amplitudes.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side from which the transmitted and detected electromagnetic signals are transmitted and detected, respectively, and the substantially concrete structure contains one or more reinforcing bars, and each determined amplitude corresponds to reflections of electromagnetic energy from one or more of the one or more reinforcing bars. For each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude is adjusted to accommodate for attenuation of the detected signals from which the determined amplitude is determined due to a distance of the one or more corresponding reinforcing bars from the first side. The extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the adjusted amplitudes.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, for each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude is inversely related to an extent of deterioration of the area of the concrete structure corresponding to the data signals from which the determined amplitude was determined.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side. For each determined amplitude, a coordinate of the determined amplitude on a representation of the first side is determined. The two-dimensional representation of the first side of the substantially concrete structure is displayed, where each determined amplitude is represented at the determined coordinate with a value corresponding to the determined amplitude. The extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined by visually inspecting the two-dimensional representation.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, each determined amplitude is represented in the representation as a color or grayscale value.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, data representing electromagnetic signals not reflected from the substantially concrete structure is removed from each data signal, and it is determined from remaining data of the data signals whether one or more areas of deterioration are present within the substantially concrete structure.
In another optional aspect of this embodiment, at least a first side of the substantially concrete structure is adjacent to one or more layers of material, and the transmitted signal is transmitted through the one or more layers. Data representing electromagnetic signals reflected from the one or more layers is removed from each data signal.
In another embodiment, a system of determining the condition of a substantially concrete structure is provided. The system may include means for receiving one or more computer-readable data signals, wherein each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal detected from an area of the concrete structure, and wherein one or more of the detected electromagnetic signals include electromagnetic energy reflected from the concrete structure as a result of an electromagnetic signal transmitted into the concrete structure. The system may also include means for determining from the one or more computer-readable data signals an extent of deterioration of one or more areas of the substantially concrete structure.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the means for determining includes: means for selecting one or more of the data signals; means for determining an amplitude of each selected data signal; and means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas from the determined amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure contains one or more reinforcing bars, and each selected data signal corresponds to a reinforcing bar, and the determined amplitude of each selected signal is an amplitude resulting from electromagnetic energy reflected from the corresponding reinforcing bar.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, each transmitted electromagnetic signal having been transmitted at a different position along the first side of the concrete structure, wherein each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal collected over a period of time. The system further comprising: means for selecting, for each data signal, a time interval of the data signal during which the electromagnetic energy reflected from the corresponding reinforcing bar was detected; and means for determining, for each data signal, a peak amplitude of the data signal during the selected time interval, wherein the means for determining an amplitude includes, for one or more spatial intervals of a first length along the first side of the substantially concrete structure, means for selecting a data signal with a peak amplitude of a highest magnitude from among data signals corresponding to electromagnetic signals transmitted within the spatial interval.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the system further comprises: means for migrating the data signals to facilitate selecting the data signal with a peak amplitude of the highest magnitude.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side from which the transmitted and detected electromagnetic signals are transmitted and detected, respectively, and the means for determining from the amplitudes includes: means for adjusting, for each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude to accommodate for attenuation of the selected signal due to a distance of the corresponding reinforcing bar from the first side; and means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas from the adjusted amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, for each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude is inversely related to an extent of deterioration of the area of the concrete structure corresponding to the data signal from which the determined amplitude was determined.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, and the means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas from the determined amplitudes includes: means for determining, for each determined amplitude, a coordinate of the determined amplitude on a two-dimensional representation of the first side; means for displaying the two-dimensional representation of the first side of the substantially concrete structure, wherein each determined amplitude is represented at the determined coordinate with a value corresponding to the determined amplitude; and means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas by visually inspecting the two-dimensional representation.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, each determined amplitude is represented in the two-dimensional representation as a color or grayscale value.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the data signals include one or more first data signals corresponding to electromagnetic energy having an electric field polarized primarily in the first direction and one or more second data signals corresponding to electromagnetic energy having an electric field polarized primarily in the second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction, wherein each first data signal has an associated second data signal detected from a same area as the first data signal, and wherein the means for determining includes: means for subtracting, for each first data signal, from the first data signal the associated second data signal to produce a third signal; and means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas from the third signal.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the means for determining further includes: means for determining an amplitude of each selected signal; and means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas from the determined amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure contains one or more reinforcing bars, and the determined amplitude of each selected third signal is an amplitude resulting from electromagnetic energy reflected from one or more of the one or more reinforcing bars.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, each transmitted electromagnetic signal having been transmitted at a different position along the first side of the concrete structure, each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal collected over a period of time, and, for each third signal, the system further comprises: means for selecting a time interval of the third signal during which the electromagnetic energy reflected from the one or more corresponding reinforcing bars was detected; and means for determining a peak amplitude of the data signal during the selected time interval, the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the peak amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side from which the transmitted and detected electromagnetic signals are transmitted and detected, respectively, and wherein the means for determining from the amplitudes includes means for adjusting, for each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude to accommodate for attenuation of the detected signals from which the determined amplitude is determined due to a distance of the corresponding reinforcing bar from the first side; and means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas from the adjusted amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, for each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude is inversely related to an extent of deterioration of the area of the concrete structure corresponding to the data signals from which the determined amplitude was determined.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, and the means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas from the determined amplitudes includes: means for determining, for each determined amplitude, a coordinate of the determined amplitude on a two-dimensional representation of the first side; means for displaying the two-dimensional representation of the first side of the substantially concrete structure, wherein each determined amplitude is represented at the determined coordinate with a value corresponding to the determined amplitude; and means for determining the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas by visually inspecting the two-dimensional representation.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, each determined amplitude is represented in the two-dimensional representation as a color or grayscale value.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the means for determining includes: means for removing from each data signal data representing electromagnetic signals not reflected from the substantially concrete structure; and means for determining from remaining data of the data signals whether one or more areas of deterioration are present within the substantially concrete structure.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, at least a first side of the substantially concrete structure is adjacent to one or more layers of material, and the transmitted signal is transmitted through the one or more layers, and the means for removing includes: means for removing, from each data signal, data representing electromagnetic signals reflected from the one or more layers.
In another embodiment, a system for determining the condition of a substantially concrete structure is provided. The system comprises: a computer-readable storage medium to store one or more computer-readable data signals, wherein each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal detected from the concrete structure and one or more of the detected electromagnetic signals include electromagnetic energy reflected from an area within the concrete structure as a result of an electromagnetic signal transmitted into the concrete structure; and a data analysis application to receive the computer-readable data signals and determine from the data signals an extent of deterioration of one or more areas of the substantially concrete structure.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the data analysis application includes: a first selection module to receive as input the one or more data signals, select one or more of the one or more data signals, and output the selected signals; and an amplitude determination module to receive the selected signals, determine an amplitude of each selected data signal, and output the determined amplitudes, the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the determined amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure contains one or more reinforcing bars, and each selected data signal corresponds to a reinforcing bar, and the determined amplitude of each selected signal is an amplitude resulting from electromagnetic energy reflected from the corresponding reinforcing bar.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, each transmitted electromagnetic signal having been transmitted at a different position along the first side of the concrete structure, wherein each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal collected over a period of time, the data analysis module further including: a time interval selection module to receive the one or more data signals, to select, for each data signal, a time interval of the data signal during which the electromagnetic energy reflected from the corresponding reinforcing bar was detected, and to output the selected time intervals; and a peak amplitude determination module to receive the one or more data signals, to determine, for each data signal, a peak amplitude of the data signal during the selected time interval, and to output the peak amplitudes, and the first selection module selects, for one or more spatial intervals of a first length along the first side of the substantially concrete structure, a data signal with a peak amplitude of a highest magnitude from among data signals corresponding to electromagnetic signals transmitted within the spatial interval.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the system further comprises a data migration module to receive the one or more data signals, to migrate the data signals, and to output the migrated signals to the first selection module, wherein the migration of the data signals facilitates the selecting of the data signal with a peak amplitude of the highest magnitude.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the system further comprises: a graphical user interface to receive the one or more data signals and display a representation of the one or more data signals as a function of time with respect to the first side of the concrete structure, to receive one or more first user-selected inputs, each first input indicative of a time interval, and to send each user-selected time interval to the first selection module, and the first selection module selects each selected time interval in accordance with one of the user-selected time interval.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the graphical user interface receives one or more second user-selected inputs, each second input indicative of a spatial interval along the first side of the concrete structure, and sends each user-selected spatial interval to the first selection module, and the first selection module determines each spatial interval in accordance with one of the user-selected spatial intervals.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side from which the transmitted and detected electromagnetic signals are transmitted and detected, respectively, and wherein the amplitude determination module includes: an adjustment module to receive the determined amplitudes, to adjust each determined amplitude to accommodate for attenuation of the selected signal from which the amplitude was determined due to a distance of the reinforcing bar corresponding to the selected signal from the first side, and output the adjusted amplitudes, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the adjusted amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, for each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude is inversely related to an extent of deterioration of the area of the concrete structure corresponding to the data signal from which the determined amplitude was determined.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, and the data analysis application further includes: a coordinate determination module to receive the selected data signals, determine, for each determined amplitude, a coordinate of the determined amplitude on a two-dimensional representation of the first side, and output the determined coordinates, and the system further comprises a display device to receive the determined coordinates and display the two-dimensional representation of the first side of the substantially concrete structure, each determined amplitude represented at the determined coordinate with a value corresponding to the determined amplitude, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined by visual inspection of the two-dimensional representation.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, each determined amplitude is represented in the two-dimensional representation as a color or grayscale value.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the data signals include one or more first data signals corresponding to electromagnetic energy having an electric field polarized primarily in the first direction and one or more second data signals corresponding to electromagnetic energy having an electric field polarized primarily in the second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction, wherein each first data signal has an associated second data signal detected from a same area as the first data signal, and wherein the data analysis application includes: a subtraction module to receive the first and second data signals, to subtract, for each first data signal, the associated second data signal from the first data signal to produce a third signal, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the third signal.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the data analysis application further includes: an amplitude determination module to receive the third signals, determine an amplitude of each third signals, and output the determined amplitudes, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the determined amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure contains one or more reinforcing bars, and wherein the determined amplitude of each selected third signal is an amplitude resulting from electromagnetic energy reflected from one or more of the one or more reinforcing bars.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, each transmitted electromagnetic signal having been transmitted at a different position along the first side of the concrete structure, and each data signal represents an electromagnetic signal collected over a period of time, and wherein, for each third signal, data analysis module further includes: a time interval selection module to receive the one or more data signals, to select, for each data signal, a time interval of the data signal during which the energy reflected from the one or more corresponding reinforcing bars was detected, and to output the selected time intervals; and a peak amplitude determination module to receive the one or more data signals, to determine, for each data signal, a peak amplitude of the data signal during the selected time interval, and to output the peak amplitudes, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the peak amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the system further comprises: a graphical user interface to receive the one or more data signals and display a representation of the one or more data signals with respect to the first side of the concrete structure, each signal plotted as a function of time, to receive one or more first user-selected inputs, each first input indicative of a time interval, and to send each user-selected time interval to the first selection module, and the first selection module selects each selected time interval in accordance with one of the user-selected time interval.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side from which the transmitted and detected electromagnetic signals are transmitted and detected, respectively, and wherein the substantially concrete structure contains one or more reinforcing bars, and wherein each determined amplitude corresponds to reflections of electromagnetic energy from one or more of the one or more reinforcing bars, and the amplitude determination module includes: an adjustment module to receive the determined amplitudes, to adjust each determined amplitude to accommodate for attenuation of the selected signal from which the amplitude was determined due to a distance from the first side of the one or more reinforcing bar corresponding to the selected signal, and output the adjusted amplitudes, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined from the adjusted amplitudes.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, for each determined amplitude, the determined amplitude is inversely related to an extent of deterioration of the area of the concrete structure corresponding to the data signals from which the determined amplitude was determined.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the substantially concrete structure has a first side, and the data analysis application further includes: a coordinate determination module to receive the third signals, determine, for each determined amplitude, a coordinate of the determined amplitude on a two-dimensional representation of the first side, and output the determined coordinates, and the system further includes a display device to receive the determined coordinates and display the two-dimensional representation of the first side of the substantially concrete structure, each determined amplitude represented at the determined coordinate with a value corresponding to the determined amplitude, and the extent of deterioration of the one or more areas is determined by visual inspection of the two-dimensional representation.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, each determined amplitude is represented in the two-dimensional representation as a color or grayscale value.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, the data analysis application includes: a data adjustment module to receive the one or more data signals, adjust each signal by removing from each data signal data representing electromagnetic signals not reflected from the substantially concrete structure, output the adjusted signals, and the extent of deterioration at one or more areas within the substantially concrete structure is determined from the adjusted data signals.
In an optional aspect of this embodiment, at least a first side of the substantially concrete structure is adjacent to one or more layers of material, and each transmitted signal is transmitted through the one or more layers, and wherein the data removed by the data adjustment module includes data representing electromagnetic signals reflected from the one or more layers.
In another embodiment, method of determining the condition of at least a portion of a substantially concrete structure is provided. The method comprises transmitting one or more electromagnetic signals into the substantially concrete structure; for each transmitted signal, detecting a corresponding electromagnetic signal from the substantially concrete structure, the detected signal including electromagnetic energy reflected from the substantially concrete structure as a result of the transmitted signal; and determining from the data signals an extent of deterioration of one or more areas within the substantially concrete structure.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the detailed description below, which should be read together with the accompanying drawing figures.